ASNT (American Society for Non-Destructive Testing) examinations are held at Ruane-TATI Sdn Bhd.

Examination content is determined by an employer's written practice, i.e. employees who do not have a written practice cannot have their NDT personnel certificated under the ASNT scheme.

All companies who wish their NDT operators to be qualified to ASNT requirements must hold a written practice in accordance with the ASNT document SNT-TC-1A Recommended Practice; this document is intended as a guideline for employers to establish their own written practice for the qualification and certification of their non-destructive testing personnel.

A self-employed individual may hold his own written practice, but it should be appreciated that he may be re-examined in accordance with a different written practice when employed by another organization.

Written Practice

A written practice is not a set of NDT procedures.

A written practice is for the control and administration of NDT personnel and is written specifically for a company's needs, e.g. related to welds only, for welds and castings, for forgings only etc. The document may also relate to specific British Standards, American Standards, in-house procedures etc., and may cover one NDT method or say four or five.

A written practice typically consists of 10-25 pages and includes the following:

Minimum training and experience requirements for personnel wishing to be certificated.

The methods which may be relevant, e.g. UT, MT, PT, RT, ET.

The syllabus for the training related to each method.

The number of examination questions and number of practical test points. Theoretical questions are usually of the multi-choice type.

Minimum examinations pass marks.

Although it is common practice for ASNT examined Level III personnel to produce written practices, it should be noted that it is the employer who is responsible for the document, i.e. it is the employer who is responsible for his own qualification system for NDT personnel under the ASNT scheme.

Examination

Examinations duration is typically less than a day and is divided into three parts: (1) General. Typically 30-40 multi-choice questions related to the relevant NDT method. (2) Specific. Typically 15-20 questions related to the test equipment used, product/process and specifications/procedures used by the employer. (3) Practical Typically 10 check points which may relate to one or more test sample.

All candidates would also have to undertake physical tests applicable to the test method, e.g. eyesight and, in some cases, colour differentiation.

Examination Result

Examination results are normally available within 2 working days of the examination; the employer receives details of the examination results and certificates of achievement for successful candidates, normally within 7 working days.

SNT-TC-1A certificates are normally valid for 3 years OR 5 years if the written practice is based on snt-tc-1a 2006